The CCTV footage from a Dutch business park
shows a man in a black cap pouring the contents
of a white container at the base of a cellular
radio tower. Flames burst out as the man jogs
back to his Toyota to flee into the evening.
It’s a scene that’s been repeated dozens of times
in recent weeks in Europe, where conspiracy
theories linking new 5G mobile networks and
the coronavirus pandemic are fueling arson
attacks on cell towers.
Popular beliefs and conspiracy theories that
wireless communications pose a threat have long
been around, but the global spread of the virus at
the same time that countries were rolling out fifth
generation wireless technology has seen some of
those false narratives amplified.